The following is a wonderfully written recount from one of our Year 6 students who recently returned from a camp at Arthur's Pass.

TRAIN

I turned over and snuggled deeper into my blankets. My eyes, bleary with sleep, opened and I tried to go back to sleep, as it was only 6:45am. I quickly remembered and the thought flew into my mind as quickly as it had vanished the night before. My stomach filled with butterflies, CAMP WAS TODAY!!!

I jumped up, ran into the kitchen and had a delicious bowl of cereal. I brushed my teeth and packed the remainders of what had to be put in my bag. I got in the car with my luggage and day pack, and we drove over to the train station. All of my classmates were there, just as excited as I was. We had a sound off, walked through the silver building and what lay before us, was an amazing train. Nathan, my best friend, Jack and I stepped inside and settled down to play UNO. The scenery was absolutely, incredibly, astoundingly, fantastically, amazingly beautiful. Now I knew why people had travelled from all over the world to our small little country to ride this train journey.

PUNCHBOWL FALLS

We were engulfed in rain, thunder and ashy clouds. We trudged through the mud to be fascinated by the most beautiful and intriguing waterfall. We trotted up the soggy wooden steps to a lookout, which gave us a full on view of the watery beast. Drops of water were firing at us like a water dispenser, but that was nothing compared to the vibrant sound which could have been a colossal giant waking up from a 100,000 year sleep, desperate for food that could quench his hunger. We ran down the stairs, (well walked more like, as it was pretty slippery,) and had a chocolate biscuit, which was delicious.

RIVER CROSSING

We walked onto a beach full of rocks and Gemma, our leader, made us revise what we had learnt in the river crossing video a few hours before. We threw a stick into the river and tripped down the rocks to see if it was faster than walking pace. It wasn’t, so it was safe to cross. We made a group of four, and stepped into the water. Coldness flooded through my body. The freeze alerted my brain and it forced me to retreat, but I continued walking over the slippery rocks. We walked to shore and my thermal pants were SOAKING. We had to walk back across the river, and I ran to safety on the dry land. Suddenly, warmth flew through my legs. The aftermath of icy water on thermal pants! “Ahhhhh…” I sighed. The next time we got to swap around groups, so I went with Nathan, Holly and Millie. We did the crossing again and the last time we crossed, I slipped and Millie had to tug me up. It felt embarrassing but people were laughing with me. I couldn't wait for a hot shower to suppress my chill.

BEALEY VALLEY WALK

The views could not be beaten. The weather was perfect. A bright sun was shining down on us and the sky was clear of clouds, kind of. Yes, another day had arisen on Camp. We had driven down to the Bealey Valley walk which had to be one of the most scenic walks in all of Arthur’s Pass National Park. We were having lunch by some boulders and drinking from the river water, which had to be the best ever since all the Christchurch stuff had been chlorinated. It was even better in my drink bottle because I had half of a lemon inside.

After our appetizing lunch, we were taken off on a small track I hadn't seen when we arrived. We scrambled up a small, overgrown walk to a giant mountain, and amazing scenery beheld us. You could see the view we saw down at the river EVEN BETTER, which I didn't know was possible. We had a full 360 degree view of the park, with rocky mountains and even tiny, snowy glaciers. We walked through a swamp, and brace yourselves, I lost my shoe in the bog. I had to tug it out and put it back on on a rock that was in the middle of the track, so I was holding everyone up which I felt guilty about. We walked back to the lodge and sat down on the grass, which was a relief after walking for about 4 hours.

AVALANCHE FALLS (My fav part of camp)

“SCREEAAAAMMMMMM!!!!” People were wailing as they got under the bridge and into the water. I clenched the rope with my shivering hands and slid to the rocks. I got into a diving position, being the first kid to go under. (Sonja had already risked it and gone into the freezing water.) My head froze and I came out stuttering and icy. I got onto a rock and warmed up. Some people did it, and then I got in. Again. I jumped in, but I kept my head underwater. I counted to ten, and then arose from the cold waterfall liquid. I clambered up the dirt and ran to my towel, shirt and shoes, and collapsed in the grass in the middle of the hot sun, worried I had the horrible condition of hypothermia.

The next day came, bringing with it rain and ashy cloud. We trotted through the squelchy mud and wet gravel. We walked into a forest, which looked like the arena of the Hunger Games, or the forest from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. We built protective shelters, and did a fun sensory trail, where you are blindfolded and have to hold onto a rope through various obstacles.

CONCLUSION

I learned loads on camp. I learned to build shelters, cross rivers safely and about the history of Arthur’s Pass. It was pretty sad to leave, but at least I was going home to Mum and Dad. As the train left, we waved goodbye to Gemma and crossed through the border to the Canterbury region and left, heading back to Christchurch.

By William C (Year 6)